HP : Making it Matter

Company Profile

Hewlett Packard company (HP) is an American multinational Information Technology organization that provides hardware and software services to small, medium and large sized businesses across industries. It also has an extensive range of IT products to offer.

Founders

The organization was founded by William “Bill” Redington Hewlett and Dave Packard in 1939. It was started in a car garage in Palo Alto, California, where today it is headquartered. The first product of HP was an audio oscillator. Today, HP specializes in developing and manufacturing PCs, networking hardware, computer storage and delivering services. HP’s product line includes PCs, servers, networking products, storage devices, software, printers and imaging products. There are more than 3,17,500 employees in the organization globally.

It’s noteworthy to mention some of the key milestones of HP since 1939. HP became a public organization in 1957. In 1961 HP was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1962 HP entered the Fortune 500 list at position 460. HP entered the Asian market in 1963. In 1964, Dave Packard was elected as the CEO and Chairman of the Board and Bill Hewlett was elected as the President.

Company Background

HP is the first company in the United States to introduce flextime policy for employees, an initiative to encourage work-life balance. The policy was firmed up in 1973. In 1974 HP introduced world’s first programmable pocket calculator. In 1980 HP manufactured its first PC named HP-85. In 1982, HP-75C debuted as the first handheld computer and in 1983 the first touch screen PC was devised.

In 1993, Dave Packard retired as the Chairman and Lew Platt was elected to replace him. In 1993, HP introduced the Omni book 300, a supportable PC with extended battery life. In 1994, HP introduced the world’s brightest LED. In 1994, the first HP’s official personal printer-fax-copier was introduced. 2001 witnessed the creation of HP services to provide consulting and outsourcing support and solutions deployment.

In 2002, HP and Compaq merged and subsequently the company’s stock symbol changed to HPQ. In 2010, HP acquired 3PAR, a leading storage provider. In 2011, HP introduced the industries’ first wireless mouse. In 2013, HP came with the revolutionary HP data protector 8.1.

Company Details

HP Enterprise Business (EB) incorporates HP Technology Services, HP Enterprise Security Services and oversees services such as information security, network security, and compliance. HP Software Division is the company’s enterprise software unit. Under the office Strategy and Technology come HP Labs, which is the research wing of HP.

Chairman, President, and CEO

The CEO of HP right now is Meg Whitman, an alumnus of Princeton University and Harvard Business School. She was Vice President of Strategic Planning for the Walt Disney Company during most of the 1980s. She was also with eBay for a decade, from 1998-2008.

Achievements and Milestones

HP has been in position 80 in the Global 2000 list, called out by Forbes and number 31 in the World’s Most Valuable Brands category.Today HP is one of the leaders in the global technology provider’s space and with the significant success story behind it, the company sure has a long way to go.